Summary: THIS IS THE FIRST PART OF A TWO PART SERIES ON ISSUES IN AGING. IT FOCUSES ON WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP OUR FAMILY AS WE AGE. IT ALSO IS A WAY TO PROVIDE US WITH SECURITY AND PEACE.

AS WE AGE WE ARE PRESENTED WITH CHALLENGES IN MINISTRY. THESE CHALLENGES WILL COME IN SEVERAL FORMS, AND WILL COME TO BOTH THE CARE GIVER AND CARE RECEIVER. IT IS IMPORTANT THEN FOR US TO REALIZE THAT THE TRUE ORIGEN OF THESE CHALLENGES IS SATAN, AND THAT THESE CHALLENGES ALL COME AS A RESULT OF THE FALL.

THE CHURCH CAN PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN MINISTERING TO FAMILIES THROUGH THIS TIME OF CHANGE. WE CAN COME ALONGSIDE FAMILIES AS THEY FACE THESE CHALLENGES AND CAN SHARE WITH THEM THE SENSITIVITY, LOVE, AND COMPASSION OF CHRIST.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO, FOR THE NEXT TWO OR THREE WEEKS, IS TO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE CHALLENGES. THERE ARE MANY ASPECTS TO THEM, SOME WE MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED, SOME WE DON’T KNOW HOW TO OVERCOME. SOME EMOTIONS THAT WE HAVE AS WE DEAL WITH THESE CHALLENGES WE MAY THINK ARE NOT PROPER, BUT IN REALITY ARE QUITE NATURAL. SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE FACE DO NOT DEAL WITH OUR HEALTH, BUT ARE CHANGES WITH REGARD TO OUR ACTIONS, AND THE PLACES AROUND US.

MUCH OF WHAT WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT DEALS WITH THE MINISTRY OF CHAPLAINCY. THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT VIEWS ON THIS MINISTRY, AND AS WE PROCEED YOU WILL SEE MY VIEW OF CHAPLAINCY COMING OUT MORE AND MORE. THE THING THAT I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER IS THAT WE ALL PRACTICE THE MINISTRY OF CHAPLAINCY, MANY TIMES NOT EVEN RECOGNIZING THAT WE ARE DOING IT, AND THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS ESSENTIALLY COMMON SENSE MINISTRY. IT IS RECOGNIZING A NEED, AND OFFERING TO HELP MEET THAT NEED.

ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT WE ALL WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THESE CHALLENGES, OR HAVE DEALT WITH THESE CHALLENGES, AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER IN OUR LIVES. WHILE WE ARE NOT GUARANTEED LONG LIVES, THE AVERAGE LIFE SPAN HAS BEEN INCREASING, AS HAVE THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE ALONG WITH THAT INCREASE.

ANOTHER THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT WHILE WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT DATES THAT WE CAME INTO THIS WORLD, WE ALL HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME TO DEAL WITH AFTER THAT. IT CAN BE DESCRIBED IN ONE WORD, ETERNITY. WHILE OUR DAYS IN THIS WORLD MAY BECOME SHORTER AS WE AGE, A GREAT GIFT THAT WE CAN LEAVE OUR LOVED ONES IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT OUR ETERNAL DESTINY IS SECURE AND THAT WE ARE SAFE IN THE ARMS OF JESUS.

A SUBJECT LIKE THIS IS DIFFICULT TO BEGIN AS THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO START. WE’RE GOING TO START WITH FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES, LOOK AT SOME IMPORTANT PAPERS TO PREPARE (BOTH LEGAL AND PERSONAL), WE WILL TALK ABOUT END OF LIFE ISSUES, AND FINALLY GRIEF.

I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT NOT ALL OF YOU MAY AGREE WITH ME ON SOME OF THESE ISSUES. THAT’S ALL RIGHT. THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT YOU CONSIDER THESE ISSUES AND THAT YOU CONSIDER THEM FROM A BIBLICAL POINT OF VIEW. HAVING SAID THAT LET’S BEGIN.

FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES OF AGING

ALL OF THE COMPLEX ISSUES THAT WE FACE AS WE AGE, COMES AS A RESULT OF THE FALL. THIS MEANS THAT THE ORIGINATOR OF ALL OF THESE COMPLEX ISSUES IS SATAN. HE CANNOT CREATE, BUT HE CAN MANIPULATE WHAT GOD HAS C REATED IN OUR LIVES TO MEET HIS ENDS.

HOW CAN WE SAY THAT ALL OF THESE ISSUES, ISSUES OF HEALTH, CLOSING CHAPTERS OF OUR LIVES, LONLINESS, DEATH, AND OTHERS ARE THE DIRECT RESULT OF SATAN? IT IS BECAUSE THE BIBLE TELLS US WHAT WILL BE ABSENT FROM THE WORLD WHEN IT IS FREE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN AND THE SINFUL NATURE.

“1 ¶ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."”

“51 ¶ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 ¶ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”